Mermaid Offshore acquires Qatar subsea operator

Bangkok, Thailand, based Mermaid Maritime Public Company Limited reports that its wholly owned subsidiary Mermaid Offshore Services Ltd. has purchased. the entire issued shares of Subtech Ltd. for a consideration of $7.5 million.

Subtech Qatar is an IMCA diving and sub?sea contractor incorporated and based in Qatar, servicing mainly the Middle East and Persian Gulf region.

Mermaid Offshore entered into an alliance agreement with Subtech Qatar in 2008 under which it mobilized the DP2 diving support vessel DSV Team Siam to the area in January 2009. Mermaid says "the cooperation under the alliance agreement has been fruitful to date, leading to the acquisition" of Subtech Qatar.

Mermaid Offshore plans to develop Subtech Qatar into a local contractor capable of providing turnkey subsea engineering services to local and international clients within the Middle East and Persian Gulf region. Mermaid Offshore will mobilize additional vessels and remotely operated vehicles (ROV's) as opportunities arises. MOS believes that being a local contractor in the region will give MOS a natural advantage due to local knowledge, convenient base?support and lower cost of mobilization.

"Offshore oil and gas activity in the Middle East and Persian Gulf is set to increase as offshore fields begin to contribute a greater share of future production and reserves in the region. MOS's acquisition of Subtech therefore represents a geographical expansion that is logical in the face of growing business opportunities in that region. We are also pleased to have retained the existing Subtech management team which will allow us to get off the ground fairly quickly," said Mark Shepherd, Executive Director of Mermaid Offshore.